Communication and Shared Understanding Between Parents and Resident-Physicians at Night

Area of Science:

• Healthcare communication
• Patient safety
• Family-centered care

Background:

• Communication breakdowns in healthcare teams impact patient safety and experience.
• Parent-provider communication, especially during nighttime care, is understudied.
• Nighttime care faces challenges with reduced staffing and care transitions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate communication breakdowns between parents and night-team residents.
• To assess shared understanding of admission reasons and care plans.
• To identify factors associated with a lack of shared understanding.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study of 286 parents and 34 senior residents.
• Parents and residents rated communication and described care plans.
• Logistic regression analyzed factors influencing shared understanding.

Main Results:

• 45.1% of parent-resident dyads lacked shared understanding.
• Higher plan complexity and longer length of stay were associated with poor understanding.
• Parents reported higher shared understanding (86.0%) than residents (73.1%).

Conclusions:

• A significant gap exists in shared understanding between parents and night-team residents.
• Family-centered care initiatives are needed to improve parent-provider communication.
• Empowering parents as partners can enhance nighttime care quality and safety.